Hillary Clinton Monument

The Hillary Clinton Monument is a bronze buste of the former First Lady and presidential candidate of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton. The buste was created by the Albanian sculptor Idriz Balani and officially unveiled by the first female mayor of Saranda, Florjana Koka, in 2016.

The city council decided to honor Clinton as a representative in the old Albanian-U.S. friendship, her contributions to the Albanian nation, and her role as a female politician. Her husband and former U.S. president Bill Clinton also played an important role in ending the Kosovo rampage in 1999, for which many Albanians are still thankful.

Balani got the idea for the sculpture after Hillary Clinton addressed the Albanian parliament in a speech during her visit in 2012. She told the audience that Albania and the U.S. had together marked the Balkan country’s first centenary and that they would be friends for another 100 years.